What's in Orlando's tap water? The government's own test results.

Every year, your water utility is required by federal law to test your drinking water and publish the results. Most people never read them. Here is what Orlando-area reports actually found — in plain English, with links to the source documents.

No violations — and real detections.

Start with the headline: Orlando Utilities Commission's 2024 report shows no violations of federal drinking water standards. That is a fact worth stating. Here is the rest of the story: the same report detected total trihalomethanes at 66.29 ppb (legal limit 80), haloacetic acids at 33.02 ppb (limit 60), bromate at 3.7 ppb (limit 10), and chlorine at 1.2 ppm (limit 4). Orange County's 2025 report added radium 226+228 at 1.5 pCi/L (limit 5) — a naturally occurring radioactive mineral from the aquifer rock.

Legal vs. health guidelines.

The Environmental Working Group ran OUC's 2021–2023 government test data against health guidelines from public-health authorities. Seven contaminants came back above those guidelines: trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids (HAA5 and HAA9), bromate, hexavalent chromium, combined radium, and 1,3-butadiene. Federal legal limits weigh treatment cost and feasibility and many were set decades ago; health guidelines ask a simpler question — the level with little to no health risk. Both numbers are real. Now you can see both.

What was not found.

Credit where it is due: government testing did not detect arsenic, PFOA, or PFOS in OUC's water. When we say "here is what is in your water," the clean results count too.

What reduces the rest.

Per EWG's analysis, activated carbon filtration reduces 5 of the 7 above-guideline contaminants; reverse osmosis addresses all 7. And remember — utility reports are system-wide averages. Your home's water is its own story.

Browse all the government reports in one place → · Get your free in-home water test →